Can end seamer



Aug. 22, 1933.

Filed Feb.

n:l lull/111011011 F. KRUEGER CAN END SEAMER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 :LLU :"1

Allg. 22, 1933. F! KRUGER 1,923,101

' GAN END SEAMER Filed Feb. l0, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y@ JHM ,W V l T Il s Aug. 22, 1933. 1.-, KRUEGER 1,923,101y

CAN END SEAMER Filed Feb. 1o, 1932 3 sheets-sheet s nga.

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Patented ug. 22, 1933 PATENT orrlcI-.

CAN END SEAMER Frank Krueger, Brooklyn, N. Y., .assigner to E. W. Bliss Company, Brooklyn, N. Y., a Corporation of Delaware Application February 10, 1932. Serial No. 591,998

18 Claims.

This invention relates 'to machines for heading non-circular cans or can bodies of the type wherein the seaming rolls revolve around the stationary mandrel which fits Within the can end, the seaming rolls being conformed with an outline complementary to the shape of the can so that as they roll around it they turn and set the seam.' The machine is applicable for bottoming can bodies or for topping filled cans. i Y

The invention has for its objects to simplify and cheapen the construction of the searning head mechanism and to counterbalance the effect of centrifugal force, so as to adapt the machine for operation at higher speed than heretofore, thus increasing the output of the machine, with less strain upon its working parts.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings which illustrate the seal head and its supporting and operating parts only, the remainder of the seamer being of Well understood construction.

Fig. 1 is a vertical section in a plane coincident with the axis of the driving shaft, the portion to the left of the center line being a complete sec- 25 tion in that plane, and the portion to the right showing the outer or enclosing parts-in section and the inner parts in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section in the plane of the line 2-2 in Fig. 1. 9 Fig. 3 is a horizontal section'in the plane of the line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an elevation ofthe seamer head and its spindle separated from the remaining parts.

Fig. 5 is a plan of Fig. 4.

Fig. 5a is a side elevation of Fig. 5. Y

Fig. 6 is a plan of the cam roller frame and slide for the primary seamer; that is, the one which first turns the seam.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. Sis a plan of the cam roller frame and slide for the secondary seamer; that is, the one which completes the seam.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation thereof.

r Fig. 10 is a transverse section through the slides,

taken on the line 10-10 in Fig. 2.

The machine in general is of a Well known type having a suitable fixed frame which includes a bracket arm or horizontal extension A at the top, this being the only portion of the machine frame which is shown in the drawings. This bracket arm is supplemented by a hood A fastened to it, and which, with the corresponding portion of the bracket arm, encloses the upper portion of the head drive mechanism. The bracket arm A forms the bearing support for the drive shaft B by 4gears are positively connected to the seamers (Cl. 11S- 24) which the Working elements are rotated. The fixed arm A is preferably constructed with a separable top plate a and an upper bridge piece b which, in effect, form parts of the bracket arm.

To the bracket arm A is fastened a stationary vertical shaft or spindle C which carries at its bottom end arstaticnary mandrel D forming, as usual, the upper member of the can-holding chuck. This spindle is conveniently fastened nonrotatively to the bridge piece b, being locked fast by nuts c, c. Y

Around the fixed spindle C, to turn thereon, is arranged the tubular shaft or spindle E of therevolving head E. VTo the top of this spindle is fastened a bevel gear F which meshes with a bevel pinion F fixed on the drive shaft B, Whereby the head E is driven.

The head E, which is shown as a single casting, is shown-as having diametrically opposite recesses d, d (Fig. 5), which constitute slideways for receiving and guiding slides G, G having adjustable slide members or carriers H, H carrying studs I, I on which are carried the primary and secondary seamers J, J respectively.

The seamers are conformed in a manner complementary to the shape ofthe mandrel, and the can end fitted thereto, an example thereof, for a so-called square or rectangular can body, being illustrated in Patent No. 1,666,239, dated April 17, 1928. Such complementary seamers ree quire to be rotated in fixed angular relation to the mandrel around which they are moving in planetary manner, and for this purpose the seamers and mandrel are geared together by gears having teeth in numerically appropriate ratios. The fixed mandrel gear is lettered K, and the seamer gears are lettered L, L', respectively. In the construction here shown these gears have an equal number ofV teeth, the seamers being conformed to execute one revolution in turning once around the mandrel; in the seamers of the v conformation shown in said patent, the seamer gears have 1.5 times as many teeth as the xed mandrel, that is,a ratio of 3 to 2. The seamer in any suitablel manner, as by'bolts e, one of which is shown in Fig. 1. The respective gears have prolonged teeth, as set forth in application No. 506,093, led January 2, 1931, now Patent No. 1,868,897, dated July 26, 1932, so that While fully in mesh in their 'active seaming positions, they remain in positive rotary relation during their inactive positions when the seamers are retracted.

The seamer J which performs the primary step in the vseaming operation is first moved ra- Adially inward to turn the seam, and is then moved outward away from the mandrel to release it; immediately thereafter the secondary seamer J is moved inward to Aset and finish the seam, after which it is moved outward to release the can and permit it to be ejected and removed;V The means for accomplishing thesemovements of the seamers (known as the timing mechanism) will now be described..

Around the seamer head spindle E is a tubular sleeve or spindle M which carries at its lower` end the timing cani P, either formed integrally with it or keyed fast to it. It has fastened to its upper end a bevel gear N which is in mesh with a bevel pinion N xed on the drive shaft B. The gears F, F and N, N are, respectively, differential gears so proporticned'that the timing cam will rotate at a faster or slower speed than` the seamer head and this difference in speed is utilized to impart through the cam action the necessary advancing and retracting'movements of the planetary seamers. While various proportions may be adopted, those shown afford an illustration of a suitable ratio, that is, the gears F', F have, respectively, twenty and forty teeth, and the gears N', N have, respectively, forty and sixty teeth, so that for six revolutions of the drive shaft the head makes three turns while the cam makes-four turns, the difference, or one turn in six, being the relative cam speed.

The cam -P has an upper and a lower contoured cam face, the upper face g acting on a cam roller h to communicate movement to the by the separation of 'the frame members a slide G carrying the primary seamer J v; while the lower cam face g acts upon a lower cam roller h for communicating movement to the slide G' carrying the secondary seamerJ. The connections between these rollers and slides and their appurtenances will now be described.

The roller IL and slide G are connected by an open sliding frame @shown separately in Figs. 6 and 7. The rollerV It and slide G-areconnectedV by-a slide frame Q', shown separately in Figs.` 8 and 9. As the frames Q and Q are essentially alike, the description ofone will' serve for both. f' Y 1A The frame Q ismade in two-parts or members having a meeting joint at s; the member on one side of this joint carries theroller h, land the member q on the other side is iixedly united by screws i, i, or otherwise, to the slide The members q are pressed together by springs s, s, which are shown as coiled'each around a lstud t xed in one slide member and passing through a lug r on thel other, the spring pressin against this lug and reacting against the head or adjust able nut u screwing on theend of the stud. The purpose of this construction is that in case during the seamingthe seamer runs onto any unduly thick portion of theses-rn, it may yield thereto against the stress of the'springs s, s. Thus, While the cam face acts positively upon the roller lz andthe frame member q, thesearnercarried by the yieldingly mounted frame member 'q is pressed to its Work by the stress of the two springs, and

thus acts elastically, this yielding feature being advantageous during the 4rsearning and serving to prevent injury to the mechanism whenever the seamer 'encounters lunusual Y resistance. Such yielding connections. generally speaking, are known in machines of this class. The lpresent construction is believed lto'providetherefor in a Yin their outer positions. lexercise the important function of pressing the simpler and more effective manner than heretofore.

The seamer frame Q is of like construction to the frame Q already described, except that one frame is Wider than the other, so that they move in the same plane, but one outside of the other, the frame Q being shown as the wider and Q' as the narrower, They are shown fitted ton gether in Fig. 2. Their parallel portions have sliding movements in grooves f, f in the head E, shown in Figs. 5 and 5a. Each frame has a cross bar .j or j carrying the roller h or h', these two rollers being set at different levels in the planes of the respective cam faces g, g', the roller h being on top of cross bar y', while the roller 7L is mounted beneath its cross bar j'. The slides G, G have a fixed connection through the fastening screws 1I to the respective movable frame members q; while the plates H, El are adjustn ably fastened beneath the respective slides, being confined thereto by plates m (Lig. lo) fastened by screws '2, Z. This adjustment may be made by a screw k (Fig. l). slide G, is desirably capped. over by a 'top plate m (Figs. l and lo), screwed down to the top of slide. The pro*- jecting edges of the plates m m confine the slides in sliding engagement with the head.

In high speed revolving seamers of this type, the centrifugal force acting upon the whirling parts has an important effect. It is an advantage of the frame constructioin. shown in os. 6 9 that the frames Q, Q' have their mass distributed on opposite sides of the axis of rotation, so that each half or member of the frame receives centrifugal stress in an opposite direction, and each serves thus to partly balance the other against centrifugal force. There remains, however, some unbalanced Weight in the slides G, the parts H, I, and the s eamers J, J and their gears. The centrifugal stress applied to these parts is offset or balanced, according tcthis invention, by counterbalance weights R, R, best shown in Fig. These are Weighted arms pivoted on studs S, S, and having lateral arms R 'socketed in recesses vin the sides of theslides being preferably formed in blocks U set laterally into recesses in the slides, in which they may have a slight movement due to the arc movement of the pivotal arms R. The studs S, S are carried by the seamer head E, and form the fulcrums around Whic-- the weighted arms R, R may turn. In Fig. 3 vthese arms are shown at the left in their inner and at the right These counterweights slides G, G and' their appurtenances, including the seamers, inwardly with a stress equal to the centrifugal stress tending to thrustthern outyvvardly. This centrifugal balance is attained equally at all running' speeds. The result of this balance against centrifugal force due to the arrangement of the frames Q, Q and the presence of the eounterweights R, R, relieves the cam faces and rollers and the springs s of stresses due solely to centrifugal force, and imposes upon vthem only the thrusts incident to the seaming operation.

Contrary to. some counterbalancing attempts heretofore made, the effect of the counterweights is merely to neutralize Ythe effect of centrifugal force and vdoes not apply any centrifugal stress to increase the thrust of the seaming rolls against the cam faces, so that in effect the seaming rolls, cam rollers and their connected parts revolve at any speed in a perfectly balanced condition. To give a preponderance of counterbalancing centrifugal force Vso as to utilize such force to press the ifezaioi sea'ming roll to its work, would have the disadvantage that its seaming effect would vary with varying speeds and there would be a tendency to displace the cam roller from continuous contact with its timing cam.

The operation of the apparatus is the same as that of revolving' head seamers of this planetary type wherein the can remains stationary (so that in the case of a lled can any slopping of its contents is avoided).4 The necessary timing movements and adjustments are secured with Amuch simpler mechanism than inany prior construction.

In the construction shown there are a few mechanical details which may be mentioned. The cam shaft or sleeve M is shown as mounted on ball-bearings w above and w beneath. The shaft M is shown as having an outturned top flange onto which the bevel gear N is fastened by screws. The seamer head spindle E is shown as having at top an adjustable thrust-bearing, being a ballbearing y mounted at the bottom of `a screw-sleeve z adjustable by means of a polygon head z and held by a lock nut. Inside of the fixed mandrel spindle C is asleeve or bushing n, the lowerend of which is threaded and screws into the hub of the mandrel while its threaded upper end receives a tightening nut n (Fig. l). Inside of this sleeve or bushing n is a vertically movable rod T, which is Vthe usual knock-out rod for pushing off the seamed can top against the resistance due to its cling to the mandrel. This knock-out is operated by any usual mechanism, which is not shown since it forms no part of this invention.

It is desirable to construct the seamer head E with aseparate plate U, which is fastened beneath it in the position shown in Fig. 1Q, this plate having opposite recesses corresponding to the recesses d, d (Fig. 5) which recesses receive the lower portions of the slides G, G. In Fig. 4, this plate U is shown partly lowered. In Fig. 4 is'shown also an enclosing plate or cover V having a fiat top cut out (as shown in dotted lines 9 in Fig. 5) to afford room for the moving parts which project above it, and having a marginal flange V', which fits down around the periphery of the head E and bridges the outer ends of the recesses d, as shown at the left in Fig. 1.

While the preferred construction has been herein described with suflicient minuteness to enable those skilled in this art to understand and construct the machine,-yet it is not to be understood that the invention is limited to the details thus shown and described, since it is susceptible of such modifications and substitution of mechanical equivalents as are well understood by experts in this line of machinery. The invention is accordingly susceptible of variation in construction within the limits of the appended claims.

While it has been proposed to employ oppositely-arranged primary and secondary seaming rolls and their carriers rigidly connected together so that as each seamer advances to its work the other seamer necessarily retracts to its inoperative position,-the object being to utilize the weight of the idle seamer and connected parts to generate centrifugal force to assist in pressing the active seamer to its work,-in such a structure there is no constant centrifugal balance as Vis accomplished in my machine, but on the contrary there is an alternate unbalancing of the rotating parts since the center of gravity of the connected members necessarily passes from one side of the axis of rotation to the other and back again during each seaming operation. My construction has the advantages of permitting primary and secondary seamers to advance and retract independently of each other -and maintaining the rotating masses always in equilibrium so that the machines may be driven at high speed without impairing the searning operation.

What I claim is:

V1. A seaming mechanism comprising a revolvhead, a seamer support and seamer carried thereby, a timing cam, a cam roller engaging said cam, the seamer and roller being connected and on opposite sides of the axis of rotation, whereby the roller` acts to advance the seamer to its work, and a centrifugal counteriveight connected to oppose the outward effect of vcentrifugal stress on the seamer support and seamer and to substantially balance Asuch stress, whereby to leave the seamer in equipoise in both its working and retracted positions and avoid any force tending to separate the roller from the cam face.

2. A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head, primary and secondary seamers carried thereby, two opposed seamer supports carrying the respective seamers, a timing cam, two cam rollers engaging said cam on opposite sides for advancing theI respective seamers to their work, each seamer support and its respective roller being connected and on opposite sides of the axis of rotation, each seamer support and its connected parts having their center of gravity constantly on the same side of the axis as the seamer whereby during rotation the centrifugal stress tends to throw the seamer outwardly and press the cam roller inwardly, and centrifugal counterweights connected to oppose the outward effect of centrifugal stress on the respective seamer supports and seamers and adapted to substantially balance such stress in both the working and retracted positions of the respective seamers.

3. A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head, a primary and secondary seamer, seamer carriers for said seamers movable on the head, a timing cam having individual cam faces for imparting independent movements to the respective seamer carriers, opposite cam rollers engaging said respective cam faces, each roller being connected to its corresponding carrier and located on the opposite side of the axis from the seamer which it advances to its work, and means for counterweighting each seamer carrier and connected parts to substantially balance the centrifugal stresses thereon.

4. A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head, a seamer carried thereby, and a balanced pair of centrifugal counterweight levers, pivoted on the head, having weighted long arms and having short arms connected to the seamer to oppose the centrifugal stress upon the seamer.

5. A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head, opposed seamers carried thereby, and centrifugal counterweight levers, pivoted on the head and connected to the seamers to oppose and balance the centrifugal stress upon the seamers.

6. `A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head in a plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation, a seamer and seamer carrier, the latter mounted on the head and movable to bring the seamer toward and from the center, and a counterweight lever pivoted on the head and movable in substantially the plane of the head, having a short arm connected to the seamer carrier and a long arm weighted to. apply countercentrifugal stress to said carrier.

7. 'A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head, having a radial slideway,V a slide movable therein, a seamer carriedby the slide, and a counterweight lever pivoted on the head, having long and short arms, its short arm connected to the slide and its long arm weighted to apply counter-centrifugal stressto the slide.

8. A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head, having a radial slideway, a slide movable therein, a seamer carried by the slide, and balanced centrifugal counterweightspivoted on the head and engaging the opposite sides rof the slide.

9. A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head, having Ya radial slideway, a slide movable therein, a seamer carried by the slide, the slide having recesses in its opposite sides, and balanced centrifugal counterweights pivoted on the head and having short arms entering said recesses to apply counter-centrifugal stress to the slide.

10. A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head, a seamer carried thereby, va differentially-revolving timing cam, a cam-roller engaging said cam for advancing the seamer to its work, the seamer and roller being on opposite sides of the axis of rotation, and a movable frame connecting said seamer androller, having` its maximum weight on'the same side of said axis as the seamer, whereby Yunder centrifugal stress it keeps said roller in constant rolling contact with said cam.

11. A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head, a seamer carried thereby, a differentially-revolving timing cam, a cam-roller engaging said cam, and a movable frame extending to opposite sides of the axis of rotation, carrying on one side said roller, and connected on the opposite side to said seamer, the mass of said frame and its connected parts having its center of gravity constantly on the opposite side of the axis of rotation from said roller whereby under centrifugal stress it tends to hold the roller in constant rolling contact with said cam.

l2. The mechanism of claim 10, with a yielding connection between the cam-roller and seamer.

13. The mechanism of claim 10, the frame divided into two sections, and a yielding connection between said sections adapted to enable the seamer to yield to an excessive stress.

14. The mechanism of claim 10', the frame divided into two sections, and springs at the junctionV of said sections adapted to enable the seamer to yield te an excessive stress.

. 15.A` seaming mechanism comprising a revolving head, opposite primary and secondaryseamersy carried thereby, a differentially-revolving timing cam, cam-rollers engaging cam faces thereof on opposite sides, and movable frames extending to opposite sides of the axis of rotation, each frame carrying a cam-roller on one side and connected to a seamer on the other.

16. A seaming mechanism according to claim 15, the two frames mounted in the head as parallel slides. 17. Afseaming mechanism according to claim `15, the two frames mounted one within the other and guided within the head.

18. A seaming mechanism comprising a revolving Ahead, a seamer carried thereby, a differentially-revolving timing cam, a cam roller engaging said cam, the seamer and roller being on opposite sides of the axis of rotation, a movable part connecting said seamer land roller, wherebythe roller acts to advance the seamer to its work, the distribution of weight in said seamer, roller and connecting part being such that the center of gravity is constantly on the same side of the axis as the seamer whereby during rotation to create a centrifugal stress tending to throw the seaming roll outwardly and press the cam roller inwardly, and a centrifugal counterweight connected to said parts adapted to oppose and substantially balance such centrifugal stress.

FRANK KRUEGER. 

